Hypericum canariense
was the focus of Dr.
Katrina Dlugosch's PhD work at the
University of California - Santa Cruz, under
Dr.
Ingrid Parker,
and they are continuing to study its ecology
and evolution. Katrina is now an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of
Arizona.

A summary of
our work:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part of our work is to
describe the basic features of this plant, such as germination
requirements and rates, growth rates, flowering time, and fruit
production.

In addition to being
an understudied invader
generally, H canariense is also of interest as a
model
system in which to learn more about invasive species as a group.
We currently know very little about how much genetic variation
from the native range establishes in a new invasion. This is an
important issue in terms of understanding the likelihood of an
invader adapting to different types of habitat or control
efforts, and therefore the importance of preventing dispersal
(genetic exchange) between existing invasions. We are using
the invasion of California and Hawaii by H. canariense
to get at some of these issues. This work is being funded by the US
Department of Agriculture. If you would like to see a full description
of this work, please contact
Katrina directly. Generally, we are...

1)Surveying DNA variation to (i) establish which regions in the native range
are the source for each invasion and (ii) determine how much of the
overall genetic diversity has made it from the native range to the
introduced populations. Our findings to date indicate that the invasions share the same source on the island of
Tenerife. The invasions harbor about half of the genetic
diversity seen in native populations on Tenerife.

2) Comparing variation in life history traits (growth, reproduction, survival) between the
native and introduced ranges using a common garden of plants from all
populations and controlled matings within populations (to estimate the
heritability of traits). Our
common gardens suggest that variability has been sufficient for the
evolution of faster growth and local adaptation in flowering
time.

3) Comparing the mating systems used by in old and young individuals within the
introduced populations. We are finding that H. canariense is adept at
self-pollination, and may be relying heavily upon this method of
reproduction.